COLUMN: Accent on Agriculture – Manitoba farmers continue to age

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This article was published 16/11/2022 (940 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The average age of farmers in Manitoba continues to climb. That, despite the fact that as a province, Manitoba has the second-youngest population of farmers in the country. A census of agriculture was done in 2021, and it showed that the average age of a farmer in Manitoba was 54.6 years old. That was an increase from the previous census done in 2016 which showed that the average was 53.8 years. The province with the youngest average age was Quebec at 54 years

When the census was taken in 2021, there were 19,465 people farming in Manitoba. 11.5 percent of them were under age 35. That was the highest percentage of young farmers in the country. Nationally, farmers are a lot greyer. Over the entire country, just 8.9 percent of farmers are under age 35. In Manitoba, the proportion is 11.5 percent.

Another trend seen recently is that of female farm operators. 26.5 percent of the famers in Manitoba were female at the time of the 2021 census.

Another interesting fact is the number of farmers who have a second job. 46 percent of all Manitoba farmers also work at another job off the farm. About a quarter of them put in less than 20 hours a week in off-farm work. On the other hand, three out of ten farmers work 40 hours, or full time, at a second job.

The census of agriculture is very comprehensive and thorough. One could spend a lot of time going over it and teasing out other facts. For instance, Manitoba farmers who report having pigs had an average of 6,100 pigs per farm. That is more than any other province or territory, and well above the national average of 1,900 per farm.

in 2021, the year of the census, Manitoba had the largest amount of sunflower seed acreage and accounted for 91 percent of all Canadian acres of sunflowers. This province also reported the second largest acreage of white beans, soybeans and potatoes. And we had the third-largest acreage of spring wheat, canola and oats.

Finally, a couple of lesser-known facts about farming in Manitoba. 5.5 percent of farms had revenues of $2 million or more. Those 900 or so farms accounted for more than 50 percent of total provincial farm income.

Lastly, just over 40 percent of Manitoba farms used automated-guidance steering systems. That high rate of technology usage was higher than all other provinces but one and well above the national average.

Jim Rae is the former host of Information Radio on CBC Radio.